BANGKOK, March 27 -- A Thai satellite has detected floating objects that span an area of 450 square kilometers in the Indian Ocean, about 2,700 kilometers from Perth, Australia, a Thai space research agency said Thursday in an on-line statement.

The Thaichote satellite acquired the imagery of the flotsam at 10:07 a.m. local time on Monday, said the statement by the Geo Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency (GISTDA) under the Ministry of Science and Technology.

The floating objects are suspected to be related to the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, it said.

There are around 300 objects, some longer than two meters, which are scattered about 200 kilometers from the international search area for the missing Malaysian jet, Anond Snidvongs, executive director of the GISTDA, was quoted by the Nation newspaper as saying.

The satellite findings have been submitted to caretaker Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, Anond said, adding the satellite will collect images of these objects for a second time which will then be forwarded to Foreign Minister Surapong Tohvichakchaikul.

The Thaichote, or Thailand Earth Observation Satellite, is a remote sensing satellite used for natural resources observation.